Vacation, Day 6

Today, after breakfast we headed to War Eagle Mill which is a grist mill that was originally built in 1848. It has been rebuilt 4 times, each of them true to the original design. The waterwheel for this mill is an undershot wheel, the only one in the US, which means that the water flows under the wheel to turn it rather than over the top. The mill has another distinction in that it’s wheel is made of cypress harvested right here in Arkansas. War Eagle Mill also contains a souvenir shop on the second level, and a restaurant, the Bean Palace, on the third. Lynn bought a bunch of flour, with a little input from me, some grits(yum!), and some muscadine jelly, muscadine being a type of grape. We checked out the numerous artifacts decorating the walls of the mill and read about its history before checking out the old wood and steel trestle bridge next to the mill. It was interesting that the bridge, though probably wide enough for two cars, only allowed one lane of traffic on treads down the center of its deck. I took some pictures and we decided to check out the Hobbs Conservation center. It was incredible, easily the best nature center I’ve ever visited. It feaured several interactive exhibits, including a walk through cave model and a beautiful setting. After looking over the abundance of maps and guide books available at the center, we decided to go to Fayetteville to see the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks.
An employee at the nature center gave us directions to Fayetteville and it was a beautiful drive on the back roads. The Botanical Garden of the Ozarks was gorgeous. It’s truly amazing what they’ve done in just two years since opening. The garden covers 8 acres of what will eventually be 90 and is set up around a central greenspace which was set up for a wedding in the evening. Themed gardens were set up around the greenspace in such a way that they seemed continuous at a distance, but were easily distinguished as you drew closer. The gardens were full of incredible sculptures that blended very well into the garden. My favorite was a giant grasshopper of wood and metal. Lynn enjoyed a bas relief of a dragon fly set into the walkway of the children’s garden. The children’s garden was our favorite garden with it’s hollow tree trunk, bridge and sculptures. The staff person on duty told us that there will eventually be a reading area reached by a tunnel in this garden. There was also a bat tower designed to provide a roosting place for an endangered species native to the region. Other gardens included a perennial & rose garden, a native garden, and a four seasons garden. There were places to sit and enjoy each garden, which were thoughtfully placed to provide shade as well as wonderful views. This garden is well worth a visit if you’re in the Fayetteville area.
After leaving the Botanical garden we drove through downtown Springdale and discovered the Pontiac, a coffee/sandwich/gift shop and event center with the Pontiac church worshipping there on Wednesday evenings. The Pontiac is a restored 1950’s Pontiac dealership complete with a ’54 Pontiac convertible sitting in the middle of the floor. We had some ice cream, took pictures in the ’54 convertible and then started back. Since we were both hungry by this time we decided to stop at Durango Mercado, a Salvadoran market and restaurant Lynn had spotted between the Botanical garden and Springdale. It was incredible! They were out of Pupusas, so we took the owner’s son’s suggestion and tried the gorditas. These were not what you order at Taco Bell which are closer to what is often called an Indian taco. Instead, these were made by taking fresh-think just pressed—tortillas. The filling was placed on the first tortilla and toped with the second. The edges were pressed together and then it was toasted on a griddle. The tortillas were only about 6” in diameter so it would take 3-4 to make a meal. The first one was so good we decided to try two more.
Our stomachs filled we headed back towards Turpentine Creek, taking the back roads once more. We stopped a couple of times so I could take pictures of a log cabin and of a beautiful valley. When we arrived we discovered that we had another neighbor in an RV. It was hot and muggy and this seemed to move the cats to chorus again. Tomorrow, we plan to go back to the mill for breakfast, find a church to worship at if we can, and then visit the Crystal Bridges museum in Fayetteville. Lord, it’s been a good vacation. Thank you!